We only have 2 hens now, a Welsummer and a Cream Legbar. They are both 7yrs old and the Welsummer is still laying, while the Cream Legbar stopped last year. Chloe, the Cream Legbar, has gradually been slowing down this year, hasn't appeared to be ill, just very slow, like an old lady, but we have been keeping an eye on her.

This morning she can't even get up so other half has been lifting her up and making sure she gets some water and we have put her in a shady part of the garden. I don't think she is going to make it and apart from being upset about her I am also worried what to do if we are left with just one hen.

We decided some time ago not to get any more hens but I know they are flock animals, so to possibly just have one wouldn't be right. However, much as I would be okay about rehoming our Welsummer, about 6yrs ago our whole flock of hens got myco. They were all treated, some we lost, most were okay after treatment, but I understand they are now regarded as a 'closed flock' so we couldn't add any more hens if we wanted to.

I personally wouldnt worry about the Myco. It's out there amongst the wild birds like mareks is & I reckon most garden hens that free range develop immunity. Perhaps you could try & seek out someone else that's been left with a single hen.

"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." --Immanuel Kant

First of all I would think the kindest thing for your poorly hen is to have her pts, as it sounds as if she is not able to feed etc. and has gone off her legs and (in my view) better than just a slow death.I only have 1 chicken now and she is happy as a "pig in muck". She is a crested Legbar, 7yrs old and still laying. When I moved 18 months ago, I had three and sadly 2 passed on and I was worried about Bertha on her own. First 2-3 days after she was left on her own she seemed a bit lonely and when I put treats out for her made the noise chickens make when they have found something tasty and calling their friends. She then discovered where the back door is and it leads straight into the kitchen and Mum!!!! She is now the happiest, naughty chicken.

Thanks for your replies. We actually took Chloe to the vet this morning as she did manage to stand up yesterday afternoon, which gave us some hope. He wasn't sure what is wrong with her, but was concerned that she seemed to have lost weight, which he thought could be a sign of a chronic condition. He gave her some antibiotics and some metacam and we have to go back in 3 days. I know we are probably just throwing money at the problem and the outcome may be the same, but her and our other hen Summer are like a pair of old ladies, always together, follow each other everywhere and I just thought we should maybe give her a chance before we make any other tougher decisions

I hope Chloe rallies for you - it would be a pity to lose her, but of course she may be just getting to that age.

With myco, it's possible it's flaring up again in her if her immune system's dropped a bit and tylan is usually good for treating it, so if it's in the flock it might be worth having some in as it can flare up under stress ie on introducing new birds. I think I had it in my flock a few years ago and it came out of nowhere (it was an established flock) so it probably came in from the wild birds. When I get sniffles, usually on introductions, the tylan comes out and sorts it out so don't let the myco stop you from having new birds if you want them.

Summer might be perfectly happy being a lone hen, if it comes to that - we have a few lone hens on the forum and they seem happy enough. You never know. Give her a while and see if she starts pining, as it would be sad to have to move her at this age - but if she does appear very lonely of course it could be for the best.

When we got back from the vets yesterday Chloe actually seemed to buck up for the rest of the day. She was walking around, eating and drinking too. However this morning she is back to how she was so we are obviously upset that whatever is wrong with her hasn't gone away. I don't know if the antibiotics might still be doing their job but I wouldn't have expected her to get better then worse if they were helping, or maybe it's too soon

I would have thought it a bit too soon, do you know what antibiotics she is on? If they were injected yesterday they will have given her system a shot but if they are orally taken today then they will take longer. Make sure she is warm and comfortable (especially warm as you don't want her wasting energy trying to keep warm instead of fighting what's wrong with her) and see how she does. As you say it may be an inevitable outcome but at least you're giving her a fighting chance

Thanks Karen, no the vet didn't say which antibiotic it was and it was injected, which is why we hoped it would have started working already. She is back in the run now as it's started to rain and it's nice and dry in there and also warm so on that count she is okay. Will just have to see how she goes and keep our fingers crossed

Sadly she didn't make it, we noticed she was going downhill again on Tuesday, in fact she seemed to be even worse than when the vet gave her the meds. We did make an appointment to have her pts but by the time we went to sort that out she was gone.

I thought I would never get upset at losing a hen again, after all we have lost quite a few over the years, but it's always hard.

Thanks for all your kind posts. Summer is doing okay, OH has taken down the run as it was quite large, probably big enough for half a dozen hens and we thought we'd move it to the other side of the garden which doesn't get all the heat in the Summer months. She has laid an egg this week so I guess that is a good sign